Mounting assembly for installation of hydraulic jacks on outrigger

ABSTRACT

A mounting assembly for installing a hydraulic jack on the end of a box-beam type outrigger wherein a flanged collar, welded to the lower end portion of the jack cylinder, is bolted to flanges on the bottom wall of the outrigger, and a C-plate encircling the medial portion of the jack cylinder and bolted to flanges on the top wall of the outrigger thereby clamping the hydraulic jack in a substantially vertical position with respect to the outrigger.

United States Patent Keller, Jr. et al.

[15] 3,677,417 [4 1 July 18, 1972 1 MOUNTING ASSEMBLY FOR INSTALLATIONOF HYDRAULIC JACKS ON OUTRIGGER [72] Inventors: Joseph H. Keller, Jr.,Hagerstown, Md.;

Rusell L. Sterner, Greencastle, Pa.

Grove Manufacturing Company, Shady Grove, Pa.

[22] Filed: Dec.l5, 1970 [21] Appl.No.: 98,394

[73] Assignee:

[5 2] US. Cl. ..2I2/I45, 248/230 [51] Int. Cl. ..B66c 23/62 [58] FieldofSearch ..212/145; 248/188.8, 230

[ Reierenoes Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,426,918 2/1969 Keinonen..2l2/ 145 3,062,385 1 1/1962 Thompson ..2l2/ 145 2,946,546 7/1960Pokomy et al ...248/230 X 2,985,415 5/1961 Stahl ..248/230 X PrimaryExaminer-Even C. Blunk Assistant Examiner-Merle F. Mafl'eiAttorney-Brady, O'Boyle & Gates [57] ABSTRACT A mounting assembly forinstalling a hydraulic jack on the end of a box-beam type outriggerwherein a flanged collar, welded to the lower end portion of the jackcylinder, is bolted to flanges on the bottom wall of the outrigger, anda C-plate encircling the medial portion of the jack cylinder and boltedto flanges on the top wall of the outrigger thereby clamping thehydraulic jack in a substantially vertical position with respect to theoutrigger.

3 Claim, 6 Drawing figures Patented July 18, 1972 INVENTORS JOSEPH H.KELLER Jr. RUSSELL L. STERNER dug, 0% f FIG. 5

ATTORNEYS MOUNTING ASSEMBLY FOR INSTALLATION OF HYDRAULIC JACKS NOUTRIGGER l'leretofore attempts have been made to secure a verticallydisposed hydraulic jack on the end of a horizontally disposed outriggerby merely welding the jack cylinder to the end of the outrigger. Thismethod has proven unsatisfactory due to the distortion or weakening ofthe jack cylinder wall by the heat generated during the weldingoperation, thus weakening the resistance of the jack to the stresses andstrains incurred during the lifting of heavy loads.

To overcome the problems experienced by welding the jack directly to thecylinder, it has been proposed to enclose the jack in a housingconsisting of telescopic sections, the inner section being secured toand enclosing the outwardly projecting portion of the piston rod, andthe outer section enclosing the cylinder. The outer section is welded tothe end of the outrigger and the closed end of the cylinder is bolted tothe closed end of the outer section. While this arrangement overcame theproblems incurred by welding the jack directly to the outrigger, it wassubject to certain objections in that the housing for the jack addedsubstantially to the weight carried on the end of the outrigger, and thesize of the housing restricted the length of the outrigger which mightbe employed. Furthermore, this arrangement made it difficult, if notimpossible, to replace a defective jack on the job side.

To overcome the disadvantages experienced in hitherto employed outriggerjack mounting assemblies, the mounting assembly of the present inventionhas been devised which comprises, essentially, forming the bottom andtop walls of the outrigger with flanged, bifurcated portions forreceiving the cylinder of the jack. A flanged collar is welded to thejack cylinder wall in proximity to the sealed end through which thepiston rod projects and a C-plate is positioned around the medialportion of the jack cylinder wall. The flanged collar and C-plate arebolted to the flanged, bifurcated portions of the bottom and top walls,respectively, of the outrigger to thereby mount the hydraulic jack in asubstantially vertical position with respect to the outrigger. By thisconstruction and arrangement, the lift load is transferred to the jackthrough the flanged collar which is the only element welded to the jackcylinder wall, the C-plate merely clamping the jack to the outrigger tomaintain the jack in a substantially vertical position, and to relievethe flanged collar mounting bolts from bending loads due to side sway ofthe machine being supported.

IN THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view of themounting assembly of the present invention connecting a hydraulic jackto the end of an outrigger;

FIG. 2 is an end elevational view of the assembly illustrated in FIG. I;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the assembly illustrated in FIG. I;

FIG. 4 is a view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 6 is a view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 1.

Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, themounting assembly of the present invention, designated generally byreference numeral 1, is shown connecting a hydraulic jack 2 to the endof a box-beam type outrigger 3. The outrigger is of a conventionaldesign and includes a bottom wall 4 and a top wall 5 rigidlyinterconnected by side walls 6 and 7. The outrigger is transverselymounted on the machine 8 to be supported, which might include a mobilecrane, back hoe, scaffolding, and the like, and is adapted to beslidably actuated outwardly therefrom by a fluid motor 9. While FIG. 1shows only one outrigger and associated jack, it will be understood bythose skilled in the art that at least two pairs of outriggers arecustomarily employed, the outriggers in each pair extending in oppositedirections from the machine to be supported. Thus, outriggers 10, inFIG. 2, extends in the opposite direction from outrigger 3. Since themounting assembly of the present invention is identical for connectingeach jack to its respective outrigger, only one of the mountingassemblies will be described.

As will be seen in FIGS. 1, 2 and 6, a flanged collar II is welded tothe outer surface of the jack cylinder wall in the vicinity of thesealed end through which the piston rod extends. This area of ahydraulic jack is customarily provided with a conventional seal assembly2a which includes packing, seals and a sleeve for guiding the piston rodin the cylinder. By welding the flanged collar at this location on thejack its cylinder wall does not incur any distortion from the heatgenerated during the welding operation. The bottom wall 4 of theoutrigger is formed with an arcuate edge 4a (FIG. 5) to conform to thecylinder wall of the jack and the side walls 7 extend outwardly beyondthe bottom wall to thereby form a bifurcated portion for receiving thehydraulic jack. A pair of flanges I2 and 13 are integrally connected tothe outrigger side walls 6 and 7, respectively. The collar 11 isprovided with thru holes 14, adapted to register with thru holes 15formed in flange 12, thru holes 16, adapted to register with tappedholes 17 formed in the bottom wall 4, and hole 18, adapted to registerwith tapped hole 19 formed in flange 13.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4 the top wall 5 of the outrigger is providedwith an arcuate edge 50 to accommodate the jack cylinder; thus, the topwall 5 and associated side walls 6 and 7 form a bifurcated portion,similar to the bottom wall and side walls, for receiving the jack, arecess 5b is also formed in the arcuate edge to accommodate the fluidconnections to the jack. The end portion of the top wall 5 is providedwith a pair of outwardly extending flanges 20, 21 formed with apertures20a and 21a respectively as will be seen in FIG. 3, a C-plate 22 isadapted to encircle the jack cylinder in a direction opposite to that ofthe arcuate edge 5a, the plate engaging the cylinder wall substantiallyintermediate the ends thereof, as shown in FIG. 2.

To assemble the jack on the end of the outrigger, the jack is positionedsubstantially vertically and inserted into the bifurcated portion of theoutrigger afforded by the arcuate edge 41: of the bottom wall, arcuateedge 5a of the top wall and the associated side walls 6 and 7. Theflanged collar 11 is positioned on the bottom surfaces of the flanges 12and 13 and bottom wall 4 and secured thereto by suitable bolts 23extending through the aligned holes l4, 15; I6, I7; l8, 19 as describedhereinabove. The jack is now rigidly mounted in a substantially verticalposition, and in order to maintain the attitude assumed by the jacksecured to the bottom wall of the outrigger, the C-plate is positionedaround the cylinder and clamped to the flanges 20, 21 by bolts 24. Theholes formed in the C- plate, through which the bolts 24 extend, areinitially formed as undersized holes so that prior to clamping the plateto the flanges 20, 21, the holes in the C-plate are first aligned withthe holes in the flanges and then drilled to a sufficient diameter toaccommodate the bolts 24. By this construction and arrangement anyvariations in the vertical alignment of the jack may be accommodated.

It is contemplated that a pair of C-plates will be provided for eachmounting assembly so that if a jack, replacing a defective one on thejob site, is vertically aligned in a slightly difierent attitude thanthe original jack, as determined by its connection to the bottom wall ofthe outrigger, the vertical alignment will be accommodated by a secondC-plate having undersized holes which are then drilled to register withthe holes in flanges 20 and 21.

From the above description it will be readily apparent to those skilledin the an that the mounting assembly of the present invention provides anovel arrangement for connecting a jack to a box-beam type outriggerwherein the lift load is transferred to the jack through the flangedcollar 11, which is the only element welded to the jack cylinder. TheC-plate 22 clamps and maintains the jack at a substantially verticalattitude, determined by the position assumed by the jack when secured tothe flanges l2 and 13, the C-plate 22 also relieving the flanged collarmounting bolts 23 from bending loads due to side sway of the machinebeing supported.

It will also be appreciated that the mounting assembly of the presentinvention materially reduces the weight disposed at the end of theoutrigger, and the relatively few parts required in the assembly reducesthe cost of fabrication, conserves lateral space for the Outriggers andfacilitates the replacement of a defective jack at the job site,

The terms and expressions which have been employed herein are used asterms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention,in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding any equivalentsof the features shown and described or portions thereof but it isrecognized that various modifications are possible within the scope ofthe invention claimed.

We claim:

1. A mounting assembly for connecting a vertically disposed hydraulicjack on the end of a horizontally disposed box-beam type outrigger forstabilizing a lift load comprising, a flanged collar integrallyconnected to the jack cylinder, first U-shaped flange means open on itsouter end connected to the outrigger side walls, bolt means connectingthe flanged collar to the bottom surface of the first flange means andbottom wall of the outrigger, whereby when the jack is extended to theoperative position the lift load is transferred to the jack through theflanged collar; second U-shaped flange means open at its outer endintegrally connected to the top wall of the outrigger, clamping meanssubstantially encircling said jack cylinder, and bolt means securingsaid clamping means to the top surface of the second flange means, tothereby clamp and maintain the jack at a substantially vertical attitudeand to relieve the flanged collar bolt means from bending loads due toside sway of the outrigger.

2. A mounting assembly according to claim 1 wherein the flanged collaris welded to the jack cylinder in proximity to the end thereof throughwhich the piston rod extends.

3. A mounting assembly according to claim 1 wherein said clamping meanscomprises a C-plate disposed around the jack cylinder substantiallyintermediate the ends thereof.

1. A mounting assembly for connecting a vertically disposed hydraulicjack on the end of a horizontally disposed box-beam type outrigger forstabilizing a lift load comprising, a flanged collar integrallyconnected to the jack cylinder, first U-shaped flange means open on itsouter end connected to the outrigger side walls, bolt means connectingthe flanged collar to the bottom surface of the first flange means andbottom wall of the outrigger, whereby when the jack is extended to theoperative position the lift load is transferred to the jack through theflanged collar; second U-shaped flange means open at its outer endintegrally connected to the top wall of the outrigger, clamping meanssubstantially encircling said jack cylinder, and bolt means securingsaid clamping means to the top surface of the second flange means, tothereby clamp and maintain the jack at a substantially vertical attitudeand to relieve the flanged collar bolt means from bending loads due toside sway of the outrigger.
 2. A mounting assembly according to claim 1wherein the flanged collar is welded to the jack cylinder in proximityto the end thereof through which the piston rod extends.
 3. A mountingassembly according to claim 1 wherein said clamping means comprises aC-plate disposed around the jack cylinder substantially intermediate theends thereof.